All of Me

(1984)
Directed by Cark Reiner
Written by Phil Alden Robinson, from an adaptation by Henry Olek of a novel by Edwin Davis
Starring Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Victoria Tennant, Richard Libertini
IMDB Entry
I've mentioned elsewhere that it took my a long time to warm to Steve Martin. I felt he was more an actor playing a comedian than an actual funnyman. And his early movies did nothing to improve my opinion. It took All of Me to show me he was something much more than a tiresome clown.
Marin plays Roger Cobb, and up-and-coming lawyer who is summons to work out the will of the old and crotchety Edwina Cutwater (Lily Tomlin). But the will has some strange clauses. Using the services of a swami (Richard Libertini), she has arranged to have her soul transferred into the body of Terry Hoskins (Victoria Tennant), so she can continue to life as young and beautiful woman. Roger is more than skeptical, of course, but the swami does transfer Edwina’s soul into a bowl – which pours it out into Roger. Now he’s half-Roger and half-Edwina.*  Naturally, neither is happy with this, so the need to find the swami – and Terry – to set things right.
While Martin does take great strides in creating a realistic character, for once his comic overstriding serves him well. He makes you believe that he has two people controlling his movements. The slapstick ways he walks are completely in service to the story. But he still manages to act out his feelings toward the situation – and Edwina – in a striking way.
Lily Tomlin has what is mostly a voiceover part.** I thought she was a brilliant comedian, but find her acting too one-note. Still, it works very well here, since it’s the perfect note for the character.
Richard Libertini plays one of his patented crazies, and is as great as always in every scene he’s in.
The screenplay was written by Phil Alden Robinson. He parlayed this into a directing gig for his classic Field of Dreams.***
There’s no need to introduce Carl Reiner, one of the giants of comedy.  This was the fourth time he directed Martin, but the first time where the story was more than just either parody or a string of jokes.
The movie got raves when it came out, and still holds up well. Martin clearly took a step up in his career and turned from someone I avoided to an actor who I looked forward to seeing.
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*Literally – they each control one side of the body.
**She appears in the beginning and in mirrors when Roger looks in them.
***I went to college with him. I actually worked with him at the college radio station.  He was a senior when I was a freshman, and he already was showing success, having gotten a gig at a local radio station. All of us agreed that he had a great voice for radio.